


A Cog in the Machine

by artemis1860



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemis1860/pseuds/artemis1860
Summary: Lara Gennadia is just a face among the masses in the Inquisition.  Her time is spent every day training soldiers in hand to hand fighting and knives.  She blends in, just an unknown cog in the machine with nothing that sets her apart from the rest.  Yet she has her own journey through the Inquisition, and the War.
Kudos: 1





	1. A Face in the Crowd

# Chapter One: A Face in the Crowd

The sun hung high over Skyhold as repairs continued across the fortress, ever since the Inquisition had moved its headquarters. Lara stood at a training area, wearing simple brown trousers that fit loosely and a dark red shirt that was completely untucked, sleeves rolled up past her elbows as she watched a group of soldiers spar. Each were practicing their hand to hand maneuvers and Lara Gennadia moved between the pairs, observing every move and sometimes stopping for a correction. “He’s leaving his left side entirely open, use it!” she told one, rolling her eyes as she moved on and yet addressed the entire group at once. “If you have to use this, it will be because you lost your weapons, you have nothing left, quit fighting fair. You must be ready to fight for your life!” she snapped at them, sighing as she moved to a nearby section of fence and leaned against it, crossing her arms and looking over the group. Her skin had been tanned by the sun, though a redness across the bridge of her nose made clear she wasn’t entirely used to it. Her dark brown hair was cut short and a mess, falling in her pale green eyes as she watched, some strands dripping with sweat from the heat of the midday. 

Her people were tiring, she could plainly see it. “Take a break.” She told them all suddenly, shaking her head. She knew they were being worked to the bone, some doing twelve hour patrols or guard rotations, plus anywhere from two to four hours of training with her. Fitting in meals and sleep was difficult and often left them exhausted. It was a time of war, rest was a treasure grasped when it could be found. She watched several sigh with relief as they went on to try and get a bite, likely before whatever detail they had called them up next.

“If they have to resort to their hands, isn’t it too late already?”

The voice was familiar, but Lara was shocked to hear it, or at least to hear him addressing her. She turned her head and looked over her shoulder, and slightly downward, at the dwarf who had spoken to her. “Maybe. But there’s always a chance, and we could give them every chance to survive out there. Our men are more valuable than theirs after all, sir.” She replied.

Varric Tethras couldn’t help a laugh as Lara called him ‘sir’. “Oh I’m not a sir.” He said, still laughing. “And I guess you’re right, in theory at least. Not sure that ever works out in reality.”

Lara sighed, turning her head to look straight ahead again and rolling her eyes where Varric couldn’t see. “And in fiction?” she asked, having a hard time keeping a sarcastic edge out of her voice.

“Ha! Only for the hero beating impossible odds.” He said, chuckling to himself as he moved to walk around the fence and stand beside Lara. “So you do know who I am, beyond trying to call me ‘sir’ anyway. Why call me that then?”

Lara shrugged. “Most of us figure anyone seen one on one with the Inquisitor is ‘sir’…. Or ‘ser’.” She replied, glancing over at him. “I’m just a cog in the machine, pretty unimportant one at that, so why strike up a conversation?”

“Oh… why not? I think I see you out here every day, and you don’t say hi…” His words trailed off as he gestured wide, clearly expecting some kind of answer.

Lara snorted in a rather brief chuckle of her own. “Again. One on one with the Inquisitor? Why would I say hi? I don’t tend to assume someone that high up in the ranks would notice if I did or didn’t.”

“Except you never say hi to anyone.”

Lara raised an eyebrow and looked at Varric, the silent question passing between them before he answered it.

“I people-watch.” He said simply, shrugging.

Lara shook her head, the cross of her arms somehow deepening as she frowned and considered how to answer. As her eyes shifted forward once more she noticed a trio of mages walking by, one of whom stopped briefly to stare at her. For that moment it was as if his mind was working over a problem, a sign of recognition in his eyes before he shook his head and continued on. Lara herself seemed to freeze up as he looked, the muscles across her shoulders tensing up briefly and only releasing as the man passed on.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there’s a story there.”

Lara looked quickly towards Varric and shook her head. “Maybe I just don’t like mages.” She retorted.

“That wasn’t a ‘I don’t like mages’ look. That was something else. You know him.”

Lara wrinkled up her nose. More than once she’d wanted to talk to Varric when he’d passed by, a fact she’d kept to herself, not really wanting anyone to know she’d read several of his books or what ones she had read. But suddenly she found talking to him was the last thing she wanted to do. “You might be one of the Inquisitor’s friends, but that doesn’t make you mine.” She said simply, refusing to look at him as she kept her eyes straight ahead this time. 

“Alright I get it, not going to spill your secrets to the writer.”

“I thought it was the Seeker’s job to squeeze non-existent answers out of people.”

“Oh now that hurts!” Varric said, feigning hurt as he finally turned as if he was going to leave, before looking at Lara one more time. “You going to at least tell me your name?”

“Lara.” Lara looked confused a moment before looking over at him a moment. “Was this just all an elaborate ruse to get my name for someone?”

“Maybe.”

Lara rolled her eyes as Varric left, shaking her head and silently relieved as she looked up and saw her next group walking up to the training area. _‘Finally, knife training…’_ She suddenly found herself looking forward to the daily training, if only to get her mind off what just happened, and the fact that it was bugging her.


	2. Recruitment

# Chapter Two: Recruitment

_‘Why the hell are they here?! This place was supposed to be safe!_ ’ It was all she could think about as she watched them from within the small house. Outside was the small smithy she had been spending the last few weeks building, just like the one her father used to run. She had barely begun putting out horseshoes and other bits when they’d showed up. Now all she could do was stay in her house and watch them tear it apart. _‘Damn Templars… Damn war…’_ Her face must have showed her anger, because he noticed.

“As if you could do anything about it.”

Lara turned and looked at the man standing beside her. He was in full templar armor, helm included, so all she could really see were his eyes. She hardly saw any emotion in them and his comment only caused her to roll her eyes. She glanced out the window to see one of the others kicking at the forge as if they could break it apart with force before she turned her eyes back to him. “As if I’m hiding a mage in the damn coals.” She retorted, rolling her eyes yet again. “I told you I was hiding no mages, and you can plainly see I’m not. Just leave and let me get back to my business.”

She had pissed him off. She could see the anger flash in his eyes before he moved. His hands lashed out and snatched her by her hair, yanking her to her knees with a snarl before her hands could even come up over his. She knew she could fight him, but she forced herself not to. Even as he dragged her out of the house and she struggled, she refused to actually try and strike him. He threw her to the ground by the forge as his two friends started back towards them, the other two grinning at the way she was being treated. “You think I care what you have to say?!” he said, launching a kick at her face with his armor plated boot, sending blood into the dirt. “Maybe I say you are hiding something, huh? Or someone? Who is going to disagree?! No one!”

~~~~~

“So? You going to tell me what happened?”

Lara had paused in her story to correct a soldier on his form, and couldn’t help a laugh as she returned to the sidelines with Varric to watch the trainees. It was probably the third time the dwarf writer had stopped by her training ring to talk to her, and this time he had talked her into telling him how she was picked up by the Inquisition. “Well clearly I picked a fight, won, and someone saw.” She replied all too simply.

Varric threw his hands up in mock exasperation and shook his head. “No, come on, details. The details are what make the story great, and what you’re giving me is barely a summary.”

Lara grinned and outright laughed, silently wondering when the last time was that she genuinely laughed like this. “You’re the writer, not me, make it up.” She grinned at him briefly before her eyes turned back to her soldiers. “Isn’t that your method?”

Varric returned the grin. “Okay, you’ve been talking to someone haven’t you? The grumpy Seeker?”

“No, like everyone else I just stare at her ass and hope she doesn’t notice.” Lara returned, shaking her head. “Hold on.” She stepped around the fence again and walked right up to a pair of soldiers, suddenly reaching down and grabbing one by the back of their pantleg, yanking them down into the splits. The man yelped in pain, and Lara noticed Varric make a face out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah, screw up your stance, your jewels are at risk. Consider that a friendly warning. Next time I’ll kick them myself.” She told him harshly before turning away to walk back to the fence, snapping her fingers over her shoulder. “Again!”

“Damn!” Varric said as Lara approached him again. “Not even gonna let the poor boy get up, huh?”

Lara had a smart remark prepared in return, but she held her tongue behind her teeth and shook her head as she took up a place beside him again to watch her soldiers return to their maneuvers. “You know at some point you’re going to have to tell me what suddenly sparked your interest in talking to me.” She said instead.  
“Eh…” Varric shrugged. “Let’s just say the higher ups aren’t… interesting. Well. They’re boring.”

Lara snorted and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re in the middle of all the names that are going to go down in history in this organization, maybe in the history of our world, and you’re calling them boring?”

“Ugh, don’t get me started.” Varric shook his head, laughing briefly as he seemed to think over his answer. “I think everyone knows what I think of the Seeker.”

“Yeah, that’s common knowledge.”

“Politics… Templars… do I really have to get into it?”

“Hm…” A strangely playful look crossed Lara’s face for a moment before it turned into a smirk. “Get me a shot at the Commander and I’ll let you out of the question.”

“Cullen?” Varric asked in shock, laughing. “Unless you mean a shot at a spar I don’t think I can help you.”

“Do it, maybe I can kick his ass and get his attention that way.”

“I’m not betting on you!”


End file.
